surrender
by Yui Miyamoto
Summary: When Hatori is 'missing', Akito screams for his return. (Spoiler – Fruits Basket's vol. 15 – Akito. ;;;)


**fandom - Fruits Basekt  
title - surrender.  
rating - pg-13  
pairing - akito + hatori  
description – When Hatori is 'missing', Akito screams for his return. (Spoiler – Fruits Basket's vol. 15 – Akito. ^^;;;)**

**Disclaimer – Fruits Basket isn't mine.**

**surrender.  
By miyamoto yui**

By now, the one wearing the vividly dark kimono with the gold lining is screaming a vindictive fit.

"Where is he? He didn't tell me he was leaving and that's not allowed!" she shouts with her arms in the air as the one with the sign of the dog holds his wrists over her and standing behind the frail woman. She's still unstable, looking from place to place.

Too stubborn and proud to cry.

"He will be back shortly," the soothing voice says while gently holding the slim girl's waist, trying to be affectionate in order to calm her down.

Instead, she slaps him while eyeing him severely. "If you know what's good for you, you will get him here before I go to bed."  
The girl faces towards the all-too-familiar open windowsill she hangs from every single day.

Having been out of sync with time because of her body and too sickly to leave, she's accustomed to the cycles of the light. By sight, ironically, she can call the time of day. She smirks as she says, "You better go. It's already four-thirty, Shigure-san."

She likes to test people.  
But with that oncoming thinning of lips, her eyes harden once more.

"Trying me isn't good for your health. Or…I'll make it become that way, Shigure."

He frowns a bit as his happy-go-lucky expression transforms into a solemn one. He knows why the dragon doctor left at such short notice…or does he? They're all suspicions anyway.  
All the more, he's worried at his best friend's descent into insanity at the account of the twisted flower in front of him: The core of the Sohma family.  
The throbbing of his cheek is such a small price to pay for temporary freedom.

But the worse these years become, he knows the one with the lab coat's reasonable, logical mind is being warped to enjoy torture as pleasure…

Although he's reluctant like a mercenary that hates to be told what to do, but follows instructions because of payment, he bows his head and dismisses himself. He pulls on his tie as he walks down the frigid, empty hallway that parallels the color of the Core's supposed heart. His eyes are focused on walking out of the house and the blond child catches his sleeve saying with terribly worried eyes, "What's going to happen to Hari?"

The fair-skinned, seventeen-year-old boy waits for an answer that he knows for sure he will not get. Yet, he bravely asks anyway, imposing that he wants to search too.

Shigure looks up at the distance to find a silver, long-haired man standing at the lot's entrance. His usual confusing and happy demeanor is put aside. His snake eyes stare impetuously for an explanation that even he's not been given.  
It just happened that the doctor actually said something that wasn't quite right that he's closed shop and has compelled himself to make a boisterous visit. Instead, he's heard the whispering of the members to of the cruel clan that makes his blood colder than it's already accustomed to.

"How come you're the only one who knows, 'Gure-san?" the temptatious voice insists in a demure way.

Shigure doesn't really know. He's pretending that he does so that the others won't worry as much as they should be. Inside, he's frantic because he doesn't really know what to do in order to loosen the tie that seems to tighten over his neck like a noose the more the seconds tick away.

"I have to go," he firmly tells as the boy lets go of his sleeve and follows next to him.  
The light-green eyed man with the braid puts his hand out to stop them. He's almost smiling smugly as he says, "Are we sure we want to 'rescue' Hatori?"

Caught off-guard, Shigure gives him a curious expression, unable to believe his ears. This is too insightful of a remark for the flamboyant snake.

The handsome blond's eyes become glum, losing a tint of their youthful and energetic charm. Not being playful at all, he comments, "Maybe it's not himself he's trying to save."

When they're in a car traveling from place to place, they try to call the doctor's never-sleeping cel phone. Instead, they get the voicemail and become frustrated. They search for hours in the city and all the local bookstores, even restaurants he used to visit before he got too busy.

At 11:57pm, they get a phone call from Akito. The only thing she says is, "You're off the hook for now."

When she flips Hatori's phone, she throws it violently against the sliding screen door. It almost tears through the paper skin.

The doctor with the immaculate lab coat doesn't flinch, even when the phone was only a few centimeters from his right cheek when it flew past him. The phone ricocheted off the door and hit him on the back before it dropped to the floor.  
Crack.

His eyes are still innocently gazing at the girl-woman who's stomping towards him. As he kneels before the closed door, she grabs his white collar and stares down into him.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull, Hatori, but there won't be another time for this insolence." Her tone is lower than it's ever been in the all the years she's 'lived'. She takes a deep breath as her heart cringes while looking at the man that doesn't show any emotion.

Is it kindness or is it cruelty that he can stand the infliction?

The doctor explains with a soft voice, "You were taking a nap and I had to go out to pick up the materials for your medication."  
Her grip becomes even firmer and she pulls him a bit closer when she leans forward, making their gap even closer in distance but wider in content. They watch each other trying to figure the other one out.

No one understands. No one wants to.  
Not yet.

When she raises her hand, she heavily slaps him with the back of her right hand. "I never gave you the right to speak up. And you, more than anyone, know the rules of this household. You're not being a very good role model to the younger members."  
His mouth's bleeding and his raw cheek is going through excruciating spasms.

Yet, his eyes do not waver.

The fury becomes more enflamed as her eyes squint with an evil glint. "Don't ever try that again."

"Yes," he complies with his words, but his stoicism tells otherwise.

Her heart cringes more and more to the point that she pulls on her kimono. She's becoming dizzy and her temperature rises as her knees grow weak. She loses her footing and falls down, but the handsome doctor stands up to catch her before she hits the closer.  
Inside her confused mind, she's protesting. Her mouth is spouting the most scornful and contemptuous words she can think of.

"If you even _think_ of doing this again, you'll never be able to leave the Sohma lot, Hatori!"

He puts her down into her futon as he nods compliantly. She can't help but cry from the agony that her weak body makes her go through. She writhes in pain as he looks up to her doctor with defiant, indomitable eyes even though the tears don't stop.  
They've come on their own.

Hatori positions her head to lie on his lap. When he's done, he pulls out the medication from the left pocket of his coat. He reaches out for the little stand that's purposely next to the master's bedside. His hand takes a hold of the half-empty glass of water and drinks some of it. He pops two of the pills into his mouth.

Leaning forward, he holds her face with his hands and gives her the medication in this fashion.  
It's to reassure her that it's not poison…

Maybe.

He pushes the medication down her throat with his tongue as small drops of water drip from the sides her mouth. She pulls lightly on his neck helplessly, almost wanting to strangle him but inviting him to come closer too.

When he takes his lips away, she takes a breath before he kisses her again to make sure it's gone down. Her fingers slide up to his cheeks and she pushes lightly on them.

Finally, he lets go and gently puts her head on the futon while sitting to one side of her.

The drug is starting to immediately take effect. She blinks up at him, but she can't reach out for him. Opening and closing her eyes, she watches him as he fixes her kimono. His bangs are over his eyes as a small smile creeps onto his face.

Isn't this the one that's always so reassuring?

He puts the blanket over her waist and leans down with his lips brushing on her neck. Her eyes close and open sleepily, but his breath makes her skin feel likes it's burning.  
"Touch me," she demands with the resoluteness that's true to her clever mind.

It is a confusing order.  
It is desperate and demeaning at the same time.

For who exactly?

Tenderly, he cups his hand over her left cheek. He kisses her forehead.  
But when he's about to leave, she's defying logic all over again with her fingers holding onto his, and they're slipping.

Sliding, sliding together to push off one side of the kimono from her shoulder and inside her kimono. Her eyes are like steel because they cut through him while her coldness comes out on her fingertips.  
He feels the skin of her breast, but he doesn't do anything more. Their hands are over one another.

She can't ask for more because she can't move and he's unwilling to give in.

Instead, he cranes his neck to coolly whisper into her neck, "Aki. Weren't you the one who told me 'Do as you're told and no one will get hurt'?"

He kisses her again on the lips and gets up to leave. "I've got to go now. Due to that certain cold going around, there are other people who need me at this hour."  
He doesn't look back and her eyes are closed.

When he closes the door behind him, she's listening to all the unspoken words. She hears the footsteps moving away as he hears his heart beat to an unrhythmical thumping.

"HATORI."

Halfway through the hall, he stops suddenly. His heart's skipped a beat as he takes a deep breath while that call creeps into his skin. It's almost a tangible form of fear itself.

It is not in a shout. Her voice is almost inaudible, but it echoes in the hallway.

Her sound is close to breathless like a ghost's, but the cold sweat goes down his face. His stomach starts to churn and it's more than obsessive guilt or prickly trepidation.

That damn medication is starting to wear off and become immune, isn't it?

He turns around to find her crawling on the floor. Her body's halfway out of the opened door that he didn't hear slide at all. Her sharp eyes are thrusting into him with a million arrows.

The doctor walks back to kneel and carry her again. He holds his breath while she's pushing his coat onto his elbows. When he's putting her back into the futon, she holds onto his shirt and rips it open with the buttons clapping to the ground.  
All the while, her eyes hatefully stare back at him.

"Don't ever talk like that to me again."  
It sounds like pure ice running down his now naked chest.

As he looks down at her, he's lost all over again. He took up this profession to help her, and now she can't live without him. She's hurt him continuously to make him understand that he can't ever leave, but she doesn't seem to see that he doesn't to.

He can't pull himself away and he knows why, but secretly keeps the reply to himself.

Again, he'll have to calm her down.

_He thinks of the first time she came to watch him practice Noh dancing in one of the empty unmated rooms. He sat on his knees and gradually got up. One foot forward, one foot forward and back. He pulls the fan towards him with his thumb upward as if he's going to bow forward._

_The fan is an extension of his hand and it's pointing towards a curious little girl._

_He lifts his toes and slides forward. Then, he taps it on the ground.  
It is an abnormal way of walking._

_In fact, his sensei told him that the Noh dance is done by making the unnatural steps look normal…_

He thinks of this as he watches her pull his head to kiss her, but he pulls his head up. "I really need to go. There are others waiting for me and I'm late."  
The more she resists his protests, the more he pulls away.

Hatori gets up again to leave. "If I surrender every time, you won't enjoy yourself."

When he steps out of the room, she simply says, "You're under house arrest."  
"Yes, Akito," he answers in an almost complacent manner and closes the door behind him.

She closes her eyes before her tears can come out and he smiles darkly as he walks down the hallway.

It seems that these years have been very productive. By making her want more, she will belong more and more to him…

"Surrender to me," he remembers her saying when she pulled on his tie and threatened to blind him completely…

But if love means to surrender, is there really a winner?  
More than anything, is that even affection at all? Is this 'life' at all?

Is this the 'something' that's worse than desperation itself?

Hopelessly, he wants to save her while she's waiting to die…  
But he's heading away from heaven because he wants to find out.

He laughs mockingly to himself:  
"The greatest concepts of life…  
…love, living, truth, lies, and hope…  
are so subjective

they hurt you with their kindness  
to make an inkling of sense

within the confusion

that'll kill you over and over again,  
almost conditioning you to enjoy the torture."

**Owari.**

-  
**Author's note:** This was just meant to be more a psychological trip more than anything. I don't know why, but I enjoyed freaking myself out. My favorite part was when she calls his name while crawling out. * shivers *

Love,  
Yui

**Monday, August 01, 2005**  
**3:31:33 AM**


End file.
